From a press release issued by the SBK press office:

Round 5 – Germany – Oschersleben,
30th May – 1st June 2003

GERMAN ROUND JUST DAYS AWAY

A pre-season change to the customary running order of the World Superbike Championship sees round five of the 2003 series about to take place at Oschersleben, in Eastern Germany. The more usual late autumn date used by the Oschersleben race since, its induction into the SBK series since 2000, has been swapped
for 1 June. Oschersleben is the only German based round of the year.

One of the newest, and therefore safest venues from which to watch the excitement SBK delivers, Oschersleben is a flat yet tortuous circuit, with seven left and seven right corners, most of them tight and several featuring a mid corner change of radius. The 3.667km circuit has 15,000 grandstand seats and space for a total of 80,000 spectators, with most viewing areas raised 6-8 metres above the level of the track to enhance the field of vision.

The sight every SBK crowd has witnessed since the start of the season is that of Neil Hodgson (Ducati Fila 999 F03) winning races – eight from eight so far – a record breaking start to any SBK campaign. Nine at Oschers would equal the best number of straight wins in a single year; ten would propel Hodgson into greatness before half the races had even been completed.

Having to fight hard for some of his wins, Hodgson nonetheless approaches Oschersleben with a high degree of confidence, but his team-mate Ruben Xaus (Fila Ducati 999 F03) is safe in the knowledge that although he has found Hodgson unstoppable so far, he is the only current SBK runner to have won a race at
Oschersleben – for Ducati in the second leg of the 2001 event.

Spain is well represented in the upper echelons of SBK again, with Xaus, second overall behind Hodgson’s stunning tally of 200 points, being pressurised by Gregorio Lavilla (Alstare Suzuki GSX-R1000) who is only four points adrift of Xaus after two outstanding Monza podium finishes. As likely to be the first man to depose Hodgson as any other, Lavilla has been on startlingly quick form of late, and all despite running air intake restrictors on his 1000cc four-cylinder machine as per the new 2003 regulations.

The energy, enthusiasm and sheer joie de vivre of Frenchman Regis Laconi (NCR Ducati) has brought him to fourth overall, an impressive achievement for the first of several true privateers on the Oschersleben grid. His brace of second place finishes have shown he can run with the very best when the circumstances are correct and Laconi will probably find Oschersleben one of the best tracks of the year in this regard.

The odd piece of misfortune has relegated the HM Plant Ducati pairing of James Toseland and Chris Walker to fifth and sixth places overall, despite the fact that each has access to 2002 factory spec 998 F02 Ducatis. Battling in the leading bunch week in and week out, the British duo have suffered injury since the start of the year, but each is determined to reverse their recent slip in the ratings in Germany.

The last of the seven riders to have taken at least one podium so far is the oldest man in the series, Pierfrancesco Chili (PSG-1 Ducati), who is an ever maturing 38-years-young. By a strange quirk of coincidence he also sits seventh in the championship and runs number seven on his private Ducati.

A unique entry to the World Superbike Championship for the 2003 season is the Foggy Petronas FP-1 project. The Malaysian oil giant Petronas has joined forces with four-time SBK Champion Carl Fogarty to produce a three cylinder, 900cc machine, which has given 1996 World Champion Troy Corser and British star James Haydon places on the grid and no end of headlines so far. A welcome addition to the SBK line-up, the uniquely styled and coloured FP1 has enjoyed a race best of fifth in Phillip Island (race one), and a front row start at Valencia – both courtesy of Corser.

Steve Martin (DFX Pirelli Ducati 998RS) leads a strong three-rider challenge on Pirelli tyres; Juan Borja and Marco Borciani add their corners to the triangle. Walter Tortoroglio, promoted from the ranks of Superstock, rides a Honda VTR1000 twin while his fellow Italians Ivan Clementi and Mauro Sanchini campaign the Bertocchi Kawasaki 750s for one more season. A whole gridful of high-level privateer Ducati riders and the as-yet unnamed wildcards completes the SBK entry.

In the World Supersport Championship class Ten Kate Honda rider Chris Vermeulen has enjoyed the championship lead since the second round in his native Australia, after overtaking the early sprint of Valencia race winner Katsuaki Fujiwara (Alstare Suzuki). Yamaha Germany rider Christian Kellner took the top spot at round three at Sugo, but Vermeulen, still only 20-years old, scored his personal win number two, and a 29 point championship lead, after the Monza race.

Fujiwara, Kellner and Vermeulen are the only three riders to have won races in 2003, but with 19 factory bikes competing at every round, the scope is broad for another winner sometime soon. Karl Muggeridge, Vermeulen’s Ten Kate team-mate, was easily the most competitive qualifier at Monza, but a burnt clutch after the start put paid to his chances of a decent finish, pre-empting his retirement from the meeting.

Three former Supersport World Champions still actively compete in the series – Stephane Chambon (Alstare Suzuki), Jörg Teuchert (Yamaha Motor Germany) and Fabien Foret (Kawasaki Racing Team). Of the three, only Teuchert is not a proven winner at Oschersleben.

Other obvious and serious threats to the top step of the podium include the balance of the 2003 podium finishers: Jurgen van den Goorbergh (Yamaha Belgarda ), Alessio Corradi (Team Italia Spadaro Yamaha) and Iain Macpherson (van Zon Honda).



More, from a press release issued by Honda:

World Supersport Championship 2003 – Round Five
Oschersleben Race Preview
30 May – 1 June 2003

VERMEULEN ON TOP AS OSCHERSLEBEN APPROACHES

With the fifth round of the World Supersport Championship looming large in the collective thoughts of the World Supersport paddock, World Championship leader Chris Vermeulen (Ten Kate Honda CBR600RR) enjoys a healthy 29 point advantage over a chasing pack of 23 regular WSS riders.

No fewer than 19 of the entrants to the series this year are mounted on factory-supported machinery, as the growth of Supersport racing per se propels itself to a higher level yet again. Eight Honda combatants come equipped with the all-new CBR600RR, ready to do battle at the definitive modernist circuit of Oschersleben in Eastern Germany.

After completion of the previous Monza round on May 18, the scene of Vermeulen’s second decisive victory of the year, the championship order behind the 20-year-old Australian has once more morphed into a different form, as fortunes for the individual competitors have risen and waned once more.

The contrast between the historic Monza Autodromo and the contemporary layout of Motopark Oschersleben could not be more pronounced, in terms of age and design. The 3.667km long German track, one of a handful built in the late nineties after re-unification, has already hosted three World Supersport events and its tight and tricky nature has led to the – sometimes literal – downfall of many a would-be winner. Normally held late in the autumn, Oschersleben has been pushed forward in the calendar, and will be the only German based race of the 2003 season.

Vermeulen’s immense efforts, plus the speed and reliability of his Ten Kate Honda, have put him in an enviable position. Even a no-score in Oschersleben would leave him ahead of his closest rivals; such is the extent of his points lead.

“The race is normally good at Oschersleben,” said Vermeulen, who is still undergoing treatment for the broken right thumb ligament he suffered in qualifying at Monza. “I would be happy to finish in the top five but we will be working towards getting on the podium at least. I’m not looking at championship too much right now though, because I want to go out and race the way I normally do – but I guess I have to be a bit more careful. I still want to be in the position to go for the win if the chance is there.”

Vermeulen continued. “The Ten Kate Honda has been going well on fast circuits this year and the guys have been working on the engine to make it better on the tighter, slower tracks as well. It wasn’t quite so good at Sugo compared to somewhere like Monza, so they are doing a lot of development for tracks like Oschersleben and Misano.”

Pole position man at Monza Karl Muggeridge (Ten Kate Honda CBR600R) suffered the agony of failing to finish in the race itself. Despite this setback he’s upbeat about Oschers, having earned a podium there – on a Ten Kate Honda to boot – in 2000.

“Obviously Monza was a big disappointment but we showed that we’ve got the set-up of bike a lot more suited to me now.” said Muggeridge, who was almost one second ahead of all comers after final qualifying in Italy. “In the past Oschersleben hasn’t been too bad for me, so we should go well there.”

A different approach to both on and off track competition in the run up to Monza gave Iain Macpherson (Van Zon Honda CBR600RR) a fully deserved third place, a result Macpherson feels can be repeated in Germany.

“The Monza race was a bit more like it so we’ll continue to work hard and hopefully we’ll get another good result,” said Macpherson on his way to Oschersleben. “Supersport racing is so tight, especially this year, that sometimes sixth is a good result. That said, I really want to get as many points on the board as possible so the podium will be our goal again. Oschersleben isn’t a bad track – not my favourite, but it’s OK.”

Sebastien Charpentier (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) had an excellent race in Monza, running much of the 16 laps in a podium slot before finishing sixth in only his second outing of the year. His relative lack of full race physical conditioning stopped the fast Frenchman from scoring even higher. Charpentier was 13th at Oschersleben last time out, but his Monza forms points at a potential top five finish this time around.

“I had my brilliant team and a very fast Honda to thank for letting me run up front at Monza, so at Oschersleben we could have a better result than ever before,” said Charpentier after the Italian race.

Broc Parkes (BKM Honda CBR600RR) had a fraught outing at Monza, concentrating his energies on the contrast between the tracks after experiencing a lack of power in Italy.

“Oschersleben doesn’t rely so much on top speed,” said the talented young Aussie. “My suspension and tyres are fantastic, so I know I can hold my own on this twisty track.”

Werner Daemen (Van Zon Honda CBR600RR) was buoyed by both the result of his team-mate Iain Macpherson at Monza, and the results of a test session since then.

“We have found and cured the electrical problems that made us so slow in top speed at Monza, but only after we tested at Zolder recently” said Daemen, who now can’t wait to get to Oschersleben. “I like the track in Germany and I think we can have a very good result there – but only if we get the set-up of the machine just right. Monza was all about speed but the whole machine counts somewhere like Oschersleben.”

Christophe Cogan (BKM Honda CBR600RR) approaches Oschersleben in better condition than when he left Monza, having to ride in great pain from pre-race injury. “Monza was very hard because of the pain and my lack of movement on the bike,” confirmed Cogan, “and we will see how we can go at Oschersleben.”

Robert Ulm (Klaffi Honda CBR600RR) is looking forward to a race in a German-speaking country and although this meeting is the closest thing the Austrian rider will get to a home race, he thinks the layout of the circuit is his most important ally. “I was racing Supermoto in Austria the weekend before the Oschersleben race and had some good results so I hope to carry that forward,” said the versatile Team Klaffi pilot. “I have many fans in Germany I think but the track layout suits me very well and I this will be more of an advantage. Our performances have been good this year and hopefully we can get closer to the very front at a track like Oschersleben.”

Race six out of a total of 11 events takes place at the modified Silverstone circuit in England, on 15 June.